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Afternoon, folks.
Rifle season's rolling across most of the West, the rut's heating up, and if your truck smells anything like mine right now, your wife has already said something about it.
Grab your coffee. Here's what's worth your time this week.
IN THIS EDITION:
The hammer drops – A Bitterroot poacher gets 31½ years, and it's about time.
Same district, new buck – Montana wardens want help finding two guys in a silver pickup.
Left to rot – Three Wyoming bulls and a collared cow moose wasted before the season even opened.
Going on offense – Oregon's push to protect hunting is now collecting signatures statewide.
The good stuff – A legally blind 13-year-old from Gillette tagged his first mule deer buck, and he's coming for elk next.
THE BIG ONE
MONTANA POACHER GETS 31½ YEARS. YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT.
Most poaching cases end the same way. A fine you could cover with one decent paycheck, a few years off the license, and the guy's back on the same ridge before anybody notices.
Not this time.
Jason Rulon Davis of Corvallis, Montana, has been handed a 31½-year sentence for a string of wildlife crimes in Ravalli County. That breaks down to 15 years in prison plus a five-year parole restriction, more than $50,000 in restitution and court fees, and the permanent loss of his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges. For life.
Here's how it played out.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spent four years building the case, and it started with tips from regular folks who knew something wasn't right. Back in May, Davis was convicted on 18 counts, five felonies and 13 misdemeanors, covering illegal possession, transportation and hunting of wildlife. The sentence came down in August, and FWP made it public last week.
The tally: six animals. Three trophy mule deer bucks, two trophy whitetails and a mountain lion.
The one that should make every Western hunter's blood boil? Davis helped his own son shoot a trophy muley in Hunting District 270 with no permit. They shot it from the road, after dark, under a spotlight. Then they cut off the head and antlers and left the rest of the deer lying there.
He didn't just break the law. He taught his kid to.
Oh, and this wasn't his first rodeo either. Davis already had hunting violations on his record before this case.
The best part of the sentence, in my opinion: once he's out, he's barred for the rest of his sentence from tagging along with anybody who's hunting, fishing or trapping. He can't even set foot on land where hunting is allowed.
I spent 18 years guiding on the Columbia. I've watched guys like this do it over and over, and the slap on the wrist they got never once changed a thing. This one's different. Montana treated a serial poacher like what he is: a thief stealing from every one of us who buys a tag and plays it straight.
More of this, please.
Read the full story: https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/corvallis-man-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison-for-poaching-crimes
QUICK HITS // WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON OUT WEST
SAME DISTRICT, ANOTHER BUCK DOWN
Here's the kicker. The same week the Davis news broke, FWP wardens asked for help on a fresh mule deer shooting in that exact same district, Hunting District 270, southeast of Hamilton. It happened around 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, on Two Bear Forest Service Road near Sleeping Child Road. Wardens say two adult men in a silver pickup with a matching topper shot the buck and left with it shortly after. If you were in the area or know a truck that fits, call 1-800-TIP-MONT (1-800-847-6668) or Bitterroot game warden Taylor Gagnon at 406-552-9335. Tips can qualify you for a cash reward.
Read the full story: https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/fwp-seeks-tips-after-mule-deer-buck-shot-near-hamilton
THREE BULLS AND A COW MOOSE LEFT TO ROT IN WYOMING
Somebody shot three bull elk near Hyattville sometime between Oct. 3 and Oct. 10, before the season opened there, and walked away. No meat, no heads, no antlers. Just waste. Over by Dubois, a collared cow moose from the already-struggling Jackson herd was found dead off Union Pass Road. She was a breeding-age female, and that herd can't afford to lose her. If you know anything, call Wyoming's Stop Poaching Hotline at 1-877-WGFD-TIP (1-877-943-3847) or text keyword WGFD to TIP411 (847-411). You can stay anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
Read the full story: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/10/23/poachers-leaving-three-bull-elk-and-a-collared-cow-moose-to-rot-angers-hunters/
OREGON HUNTERS ARE DONE PLAYING DEFENSE
Remember IP-28, the Oregon petition that would have made hunting, fishing and even raising livestock for food a crime? It failed to make the 2026 ballot. Now the other side is swinging back. The Oregon Freedom Amendment (IP-25) was cleared on Nov. 1 to start gathering signatures statewide. It would write the right to hunt, fish, trap, farm, ranch and manage wildlife into the Oregon Constitution, and it would block those activities from ever being redefined as animal cruelty. The target is the November 2028 ballot. A constitutional amendment needs signatures equal to 8% of the votes cast for governor, and Oregon just held that election, so that number is about to get set. If you hunt Oregon, or you just don't want this fight landing in your state next, keep an eye on this one.
Read the full story: https://flashalert.net/id/OregonFreedomAmendment
THE GOOD STUFF
LEGALLY BLIND AT 13, AND HE JUST TAGGED HIS FIRST MULEY
After all that, here's one to restore your faith.
Connor Gaston is 13 years old and lives in Gillette, Wyoming. A benign brain tumor took most of his sight when he was 3. This fall, near Upton, he shot his first big-game animal: a mule deer buck that dropped right where it stood. His mom, Sondra, called it a really good shot.
Connor can't pick out an animal that's standing still. He needs to catch a flicker of movement, an ear or a tail. His mom and dad, Sondra and Gabe, help him line up his shots. Wyoming certified him as a disabled hunter, so he's allowed to shoot from a parked vehicle. He won't do it. He'd rather get out and hike.
When they asked him about being legally blind, he said it doesn't really affect him because he doesn't know any different.
That's tougher than half the guys posting hero shots on Instagram.
Next up for Connor is elk. He's got a general tag, and he'd love a bull but says he'll take a cow and go after a bull next year. The family is looking for flatter country, since steep mountains are hard for him without a hand. One more thing: an Idaho outfit called On Target Idaho, which sets up hunts for blind and visually impaired hunters, says it wants to help get him on an elk.
If you know a good spot in flat Wyoming elk country, this is a kid worth helping.
Read the full story: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/11/07/legally-blind-gillette-teen-bags-mule-deer-buck-wants-to-hunt-bull-elk-next/
PARTING SHOT
Every story in this issue but one comes back to the same thing.
The guys who poach aren't getting caught by drones or fancy tech. They're getting caught because somebody saw a spotlight on the wrong road, or a silver pickup parked where it shouldn't be, and picked up the phone. That's how the Davis case started. Four years of work, and it all began with regular folks who cared enough to make a call.
Then there's Connor. Hardly any sight, and he still goes out and does it the right way, on foot, because that's how he wants to earn it.
That's the whole deal right there. Do it right, and don't stay quiet when somebody else doesn't.
See you out there.
– Matt
P.S. Know a hunter who'd dig this? Forward it along. That's how this thing grows.